Why I’m Taking More Selfies

I’ve started taking more selfies.

I actually hate taking selfies. I find the practice narcissistic, socially awkward, and oftentimes tacky.

I have an acquaintance who constantly takes selfies. His Instagram account consists of variations on the same picture – duck-face selfies.

Going to brunch with this guy is terrible because he likes editing photos on his phone more than talking to the people at the table.

You know there’s a problem when you knock over mimosa flutes while extending your arm for a selfie.

Simply, awful.

A podcast on blogging convinced me to take more selfies.

I like to get up early, grab coffee, and listen to podcasts while walking my dog on Katy Trail, which is a huge hiking trail that goes through my neighborhood.

The Tim Ferriss Show is one of my favorite podcasts of the moment.

Tim Ferriss is the author of the Four Hour Workweek, among other things, and his podcast mostly consists of long-form interviews of influential people.

Maria Popova was a recent podcast subject on the Tim Ferris Show. She’s the author of Brain Pickings, one of my go-to blogs.

When asked about what she decides to publish, Maria Popova insists that she only writes for herself.

For a popular blog author to claim that she completely ignores her audience is a bit disingenuous, however I do believe that Maria artfully tailors her true interests to a very engaged niche audience.

Maria also resisted the characterization of her blog posts as “content” because she feels that reducing your work to “producing content” quickly zaps the passion from the endeavor. Again, this is a bit disingenuous for someone who claims to spend countless hours per day researching content for the web.

I doubt she would invest this amount of time into her work if it wasn’t enormously profitable.

How I approach my blogging and social media content.

This is a 10-year-old public journal of sorts. It’s not a true journal full of salacious details, or a collection of messy personal notes (like The Diaries of Count Harry Kessler, which I’m currently reading.)

My blog is financially self-sustaining, but I have no intention of making it a full-time career. Plus, do we really need another me-too fashion blog or collection of thinly-disguised sponsored posts?

So I come to the problem of what to post: Do I tailor my content to my audience or is this solely a navel-gazing exercise?

I determined that the best way to think about my blog is to ignore Maria Popova’s mysticism around her work and to create the kind of content that I want to see more of.

When I think of my favorite blogs, Twitter accounts, and Instagrams – they typically contain thoughtful written pieces, beautiful photography of the person’s work, and selfies.

We like looking at other people – it’s entertaining.

Instagram would be a dreadfully boring platform if everyone was adverse to taking selfies as I am. I love taking pictures of my own dog, but I understand that this content isn’t as interesting to other people. (Same thing goes for baby pictures, folks.)

If producing the content you want to see is a moral obligation of sorts, then I guess I need to face the camera more often.

Also, the occasional selfie is fascinating for archiving purposes. For example, this blog goes back so far that I can find pictures of myself from 10 years ago, which I find hilarious:

Hi.

So expect to see more of me on here, and don’t worry, I won’t spill your mimosa.